I'm a cypher, wrapped in an enigma, smothered in secret sauce. Also, my name is Kev and I own this here website.
Yesterday for lunch, I found myself in the mood for sushi. Now, I am not delusional. I know what I consider sushi is probably not REAL sushi. I mean, I live in Georgia. The sushi I’m accustomed to is available in the salad section of Chinese Food buffets. It’s as much real sushi as the crab salad is real crab meat. Regardless, it’s close enough and I like it.
I decided to go to the Chinese restaurant a few minutes from where I work. As I got close to the restaurant, I noticed the parking lot was practically empty.
“Good,” I thought. “No lines.”
Once I pulled into the parking lot, I saw the place had been closed down.
It was gone.
It had ceased to be.
Beyond being disappointed I wouldn’t be able to eat sushi as planned, I was sad to see the place go. I have a lot of memories over the years that took place inside that restaurant. Some were good, some were bittersweet, and they all involved me eating so much my stomach hurt. Good times, good times.
For this week’s Friday Four, I am going to list four other eating establishments I would be very sad to see go bye-bye.
Any of the Other Five Chinese Restaurants in the Area
Given our size, our town is packed with Chinese restaurants. Still, to lose any more would be a travesty!
Yes, they are all practically identical. But so are quintuplets. There are subtle nuances each one possesses that should be acknowledged and appreciated.
China Star #2 puts extra sesame seeds in its Sesame Chicken and extra tso in its General Tso’s Chicken. China Star #5 makes their spring rolls two centimeters longer. China Star #3 sells Coke Zero. China Star #1 and #4 are identical in every way, but I think #4 has newer tables.
Still, it would be a travesty!
There are some weeks where I eat two Chick-fil-a chicken sandwiches every day for lunch. I kid you not. Every…single…day.
No exaggeration — I could not love a human baby more then I love this sandwich.
It’s delicious.
When I’m not having a delicious Chick-fil-a chicken sandwich for lunch, I usually have a Subway sandwich. What kind of of sandwich do I like? How do I like it? I’m glad you asked.
I get the Subway Club (roast beef, turkey and ham) on either wheat or honey oat bread. If I get cheese, I get either pepper jack or provolone. And if I do get cheese, I have my sandwich toasted. I get tomatoes, onions, pickles and olives. Occasionally, I will get either hot peppers or banana peppers. I will get light mayo, “Southwest” sauce, vinegar and black pepper.
Friends, the only way a sandwich could taste better is if I made it with my own awesome hands.
My Mom’s Kitchen
My kitchen is small. To cook in it is torture. So, on days my dad is out of town on business, I cook dinner for my mom at their place.
I might be a single guy, but my culinary skills are extraordinary. Seriously, do you want to know what I cooked last weekend? I made homemade pasta sauce with crushed tomatoes, onions, green peppers, mushrooms, roasted garlic, roasted grape tomatoes, turkey bacon, hamburger and spices. I cooked it all day on the stove.
And you know what? It was so good, it cured the arthritis in my mom’s finger. It gave me 20/20 vision. I put a drop of it on a dead house plant, and it sprung back to life. RC, my dead cat from when I was in college, is now purring again. It fixed the plumbing in my parent’s bathroom. It boosted their Internet speed. It told a knock-knock joke. A funny knock-knock joke.
To close my mom’s kitchen, thereby depriving the world of my culinary greatness, would be a crime against humanity.
And there you have it. Four eating establishments I hope never, ever, ever close.
So, what places would YOU hate to see go away? Leave a comment or two or ten detailing the places you just can’t get enough of.
;-) 9.26.08 at 12:15 am:
Please tell me that someday you will at least love your human baby better than a Chick-Fil-A sandwich.
What is it with small towns and nasty Chinese restaurants?? Shawnee, OK had THREE…and you should really try homemade sushi. It mo’ bettah.
Personally, I’d be sad to see Panera Bread go out of business. Well, I would have been sad, except they discontinued my favorite salad of all time, the Fuji Apple Chicken Salad. I’m tempted to burn them down now, actually. All 4529349374 of them.
;-) 9.26.08 at 11:59 am:
The closest Chick-Fil-A is about 50 miles away. It’s new and it’s located inside a massive insurance company. Only employees of this company can eat there and they are not allowed to order it for take away. Not kidding, it’s very weird.
Mostly, I stick with local so mentioning them here would be pointless. But I do like Panera and some other chains.
I can’t believe you made homemade pasta sauce! That is really amazing. It sounds like so…much…work. But I’ll bet it was worth it, especially since you were cooking for someone else.
By the way, can I have a drop of that sauce for my shower handle? It keeps falling off.
;-) 9.26.08 at 12:34 pm:
I find myself smitten with Wendy’s spicy chicken sandwich. But then I refuse to eat at Chic-fil-a because they foist their religion on me by refusing to sell me food before I see my Sunday afternoon movie.
btw – isn’t sushi Japanese? Not Chinese?
;-) 9.26.08 at 3:10 pm:
@Angi: Well, I guess I’ll love my own baby better than a Chick-fil-a sandwich. It better be an awesome baby, though.
@Erin: You should drive the 50 miles and break into the insurance company’s building. To be safeguarded to that extent, that must be the grandest Chick-fil-a of all time!
That does it — I’m going there myself and breaking in. Who’s with me??
@Daniel: All I know is…Chick-fil-a’s religion is delicious.
And yes, sushi is Japanese (right?). But that’s my town for you. We have 5 Chinese restaurants for every Japanese one. Rightly so, I think the Chinese restaurants bank on us not knowing the difference.
Seriously, they could make sushi out of bologna and we’d think it was exotic.
;-) 9.26.08 at 4:04 pm:
By your own admission, you are about as awesome as awesome gets. So, wouldn’t it stand to reason that any children of yours would inherit at least a small portion of your awesomeness? And, by deductive reasoning, wouldn’t that mean that, since your awesomeness is almost too great to behold, your kids will still be above-average awesome, putting them slightly higher than an “awesome” chicken sandwich??
;-) 9.26.08 at 4:06 pm:
@Angi: It’s impossible to argue with that logic.
;-) 9.26.08 at 4:22 pm:
You’re welcome. I quite possibly just saved your children from being loved less than an inanimate piece of food.
;-) 9.26.08 at 4:38 pm:
@Angi. That’s all fine and good, but who is going to break the bad news to Clarence?
That’s right. I’ve named my chicken sandwich “Clarence.”
;-) 9.26.08 at 4:40 pm:
YOU ATE CLARENCE!!!???
…or is Clarence the old, moldy chicken sandwich on your desk that you’re refusing to eat?
Angi’s last blog post: Friday Freak Show: Hey, Baby Daddy!
;-) 9.26.08 at 6:37 pm:
@Kev: You’re right, Kev we DO have an abundance of Chinese restaurants. But I have a theory about that. We live in an air force town (I hope I’m not giving too much personal info away) and therefore that are lots of service men around. Many of them have been deployed overseas and a great number that I’ve met have been deployed to the orient. So I think they get used to that food and so they naturally crave it when they’re back in the States.
have you tried the Mediterranean restaurant Ali-Baba’s? It’s good. Weird atmosphere. But good food if you like gyros and stuff.
@Angi: not only do we have tons of Chinese restaurants but we have just as many Mexican restaurants. Literally every major street has one. Many of them owned by the same people. Strange.
Josh H.’s last blog post: The Election and Taxes
;-) 9.26.08 at 10:58 pm:
Josh…Shawnee, OK (where I lived for almost 5 years in college) had even more Mexican restaurants than Chinese! I swear…small towns…but yeah, we had THREE that were the same name – all within 3 miles of each other. Abuelita’s, Abuelita’s II, and Abuelita Rosa’s. Very strange, heheh!
;-) 9.26.08 at 10:59 pm:
(Oh…plus about 8 other Mexican restaurants besides Abuelita’s I/II/Rosa’s…)
;-) 9.26.08 at 11:01 pm:
At least the Chinese restaurant you went to closed down. In my lil bit o’da world there are half a dozen sushi places. In an effort to be democratic, I gave each restaurant a try. When one of the sushi places shined maki roll and sashimi above the rest, I frequented it the most. I don’t know what the chef did but his sushi was mouth watering delicious.
After dutifully visiting every Friday week after week for two years, I noticed a subtle difference in the sushi. It turns out the chef sold his business. Now it is like Pavlov response. When I drive by I see the same sign with the same name and my mouth waters. I wish I could put my local formally favorite sushi restaurant on my list of places I hope never ever close. Instead, it is on my list of “I wish the other chef would come back.” (He won’t. He went back home, in Korea.)
;-) 9.29.08 at 9:40 pm:
Can your pasta sauce get me a date with Johnny Depp? Is it THAT good, Kev?
You knew I had to ask.
I love me a Chick-fil-A sandwich. Mmmmmmmmm. With some of that lemonade.
I would hate to see our Bellacino’s Pizza close! It is the best!
Jenny’s last blog post: Times Is Hard … Right?
;-) 9.30.08 at 10:01 pm:
Eeeee! We just got a Chick-Fil-A where I live and I’m dying to try it. I’ve only heard excellent things about it.
There are about a bazillion restaurants here, but I think I’d shed a tear if I couldn’t have Nachos Bel Grande at Taco Bell anymore. Don’t judge.
Corrina’s last blog post: My Hotness Is Fierce
;-) 10.1.08 at 12:30 pm:
[...] Friday and Monday, I went to another nearby Chinese restaurant for lunch. Once again, I was in the mood for sushi. Why do I go to Chinese restaurants for sushi? [...]